Translational and Transdisciplinary research in Modeling Infectious Diseases

Project Information

TransMID

Grant agreement ID: 682540

DOI 10.3030/682540

Project closed

EC signature date 8 September 2016

Start date 1 October 2016

End date 30 September 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost € 1 639 168,00

EU contribution € 1 639 168,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITEIT HASSELT
Belgium

Publications

Peer reviewed articles (41)

Quantity and Quality of Antibodies After Acellular Versus Whole-cell Pertussis Vaccines in Infants Born to Mothers Who Received Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine During Pregnancy: A Randomized Trial

Author(s): Nasamon Wanlapakorn, Kirsten Maertens, Sompong Vongpunsawad, Jiratchaya Puenpa, Thao Mai Phuong Tran, Niel Hens, Pierre Van Damme, Anaïs Thiriard, Dominique Raze, Camille Locht, Yong Poovorawan, Elke Leuridan
Published in: Clinical Infectious Diseases, Issue 71/1, 2019, Page(s) 72-80, ISSN 1058-4838
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz778

An ODE-based mixed modelling approach for B- and T-cell dynamics induced by Varicella-Zoster Virus vaccines in adults shows higher T-cell proliferation with Shingrix compared to Varilrix

Author(s): Nina Keersmaekers; Benson Ogunjimi; Pierre Van Damme; Philippe Beutels; Niel Hens
Published in: Vaccine, Issue 1, 2019, ISSN 0264-410X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1101/348284

Modelling the early phase of the Belgian COVID-19 epidemic using a stochastic compartmental model and studying its implied future trajectories

Author(s): Steven Abrams, James Wambua, Eva Santermans, Lander Willem, Elise Kuylen, Pietro Coletti, Pieter Libin, Christel Faes, Oana Petrof, Sereina A. Herzog, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Epidemics, Issue 35, 2021, Page(s) 100449, ISSN 1755-4365
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2021.100449

Measuring association among censored antibody titer data

Author(s): Thao M. P. Tran, Steven Abrams, Marc Aerts, Kirsten Maertens, Niel Hens
Published in: Statistics in Medicine, Issue 40/16, 2021, Page(s) 3740-3761, ISSN 0277-6715
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/sim.8995

Correlated gamma frailty models for bivariate survival time data

Author(s): Adelino Martins; Adelino Martins; Marc Aerts; Niel Hens; Niel Hens; Andreas Wienke; Steven Abrams
Published in: Statistical methods in medical research, Issue 1, 2018, ISSN 0962-2802
Publisher: SAGE Publications
DOI: 10.1177/0962280218803127

Estimating the generation interval for COVID-19 based on symptom onset data

Author(s): Ganyani Tapiwa; Kremer Cécile; Chen Dongxuan; Torneri Andrea; Torneri Andrea; Faes Christel; Wallinga Jacco; Hens Niel; Hens Niel
Published in: Eurosurveillance, Issue 1, 2020, ISSN 1560-7917
Publisher: ECDC
DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.05.20031815

Immunogenicity and persistence of trivalent measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Author(s): Julie Schenk, Steven Abrams, Heidi Theeten, Pierre Van Damme, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Issue 21/2, 2021, Page(s) 286-295, ISSN 1473-3099
Publisher: The Lancet Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1016/s1473-3099(20)30442-4

Elucidating the difference in the kinetics of antibody titres of infants in Belgium and Vietnam

Author(s): Thao Mai Phuong Tran, Kirsten Maertens, Ha Thi Thu Hoang, Pierre Van Damme, Elke Leuridan, Niel Hens
Published in: Vaccine, Issue 38/45, 2020, Page(s) 7079-7086, ISSN 0264-410X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.09.003

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence survey among health care providers in a Belgian public multiple-site hospital

Author(s): Reinout Naesens, Helena Mertes, Johan Clukers, Sereina Herzog, Christiane Brands, Philippe Vets, Inneke De laet, Peggy Bruynseels, Pieter De Schouwer, Sanne van der Maas, Katrien Bervoets, Niel Hens, Pierre Van Damme
Published in: Epidemiology and Infection, Issue 149, 2021, ISSN 0950-2688
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
DOI: 10.1017/s0950268821001497

SimpactCyan 1.0: An Open-source Simulator for Individual-Based Models in HIV Epidemiology with R and Python Interfaces

Author(s): Jori Liesenborgs, Diana M. Hendrickx, Elise Kuylen, David Niyukuri, Niel Hens, Wim Delva
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 9/1, 2019, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55689-4

CoMix: comparing mixing patterns in the Belgian population during and after lockdown

Author(s): Pietro Coletti, James Wambua, Amy Gimma, Lander Willem, Sarah Vercruysse, Bieke Vanhoutte, Christopher I. Jarvis, Kevin Van Zandvoort, John Edmunds, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 10/1, 2020, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78540-7

Pertussis Immunization During Pregnancy: Assessment of the Role of Maternal Antibodies on Immune Responses in Term and Preterm-Born Infants

Author(s): Kirsten Maertens, Marjolein R P Orije, Sereina A Herzog, Ludo M Mahieu, Niel Hens, Pierre Van Damme, Elke Leuridan
Published in: Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2021, ISSN 1058-4838
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab424

On realized serial and generation intervals given control measures: The COVID-19 pandemic case

Author(s): Andrea Torneri, Pieter Libin, Gianpaolo Scalia Tomba, Christel Faes, James G. Wood, Niel Hens
Published in: PLOS Computational Biology, Issue 17/3, 2021, Page(s) e1008892, ISSN 1553-7358
Publisher: PLOS
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008892

Clustering of susceptible individuals within households can drive measles outbreaks: an individual-based model exploration

Author(s): Elise Kuylen, Lander Willem, Jan Broeckhove, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 10/1, 2020, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76746-3

The seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in Belgium anno 2002 and 2006: a comparative analysis with hepatitis A virus seroprevalence

Author(s): G. S. A. Smit, S. Abrams, P. Dorny, N. Speybroeck, B. Devleesschauwer, V. Hutse, H. Jansens, H. Theeten, P. Beutels, N. Hens
Published in: Epidemiology and Infection, Issue 147, 2019, ISSN 0950-2688
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
DOI: 10.1017/s0950268819000487

The impact of contact tracing and household bubbles on deconfinement strategies for COVID-19

Author(s): Lander Willem, Steven Abrams, Pieter J. K. Libin, Pietro Coletti, Elise Kuylen, Oana Petrof, Signe Møgelmose, James Wambua, Sereina A. Herzog, Christel Faes, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Nature Communications, Issue 12/1, 2021, ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21747-7

Quantifying superspreading for COVID-19 using Poisson mixture distributions

Author(s): Cécile Kremer, Andrea Torneri, Sien Boesmans, Hanne Meuwissen, Selina Verdonschot, Koen Vanden Driessche, Christian L. Althaus, Christel Faes, Niel Hens
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 11/1, 2021, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93578-x

Close contact infection dynamics over time: insights from a second large-scale social contact survey in Flanders, Belgium, in 2010-2011

Author(s): Thang Van Hoang, Pietro Coletti, Yimer Wasihun Kifle, Kim Van Kerckhove, Sarah Vercruysse, Lander Willem, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases, Issue 21/1, 2021, ISSN 1471-2334
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-05949-4

A data-driven metapopulation model for the Belgian COVID-19 epidemic: assessing the impact of lockdown and exit strategies

Author(s): Pietro Coletti, Pieter Libin, Oana Petrof, Lander Willem, Steven Abrams, Sereina A. Herzog, Christel Faes, Elise Kuylen, James Wambua, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases, Issue 21/1, 2021, ISSN 1471-2334
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-06092-w

A prospect on the use of antiviral drugs to control local outbreaks of COVID-19

Author(s): Andrea Torneri, Pieter Libin, Joris Vanderlocht, Anne-Mieke Vandamme, Johan Neyts, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Medicine, Issue 18/1, 2020, ISSN 1741-7015
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-01636-4

Workplace influenza vaccination to reduce employee absenteeism: An economic analysis from the employers’ perspective

Author(s): Frederik Verelst, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens, Lander Willem
Published in: Vaccine, Issue 39/14, 2021, Page(s) 2005-2015, ISSN 0264-410X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.02.020

Leveraging of SARS-CoV-2 PCR Cycle Thresholds Values to Forecast COVID-19 Trends

Author(s): Nicolas Yin, Simon Dellicour, Valery Daubie, Nicolas Franco, Magali Wautier, Christel Faes, Dieter Van Cauteren, Liv Nymark, Niel Hens, Marius Gilbert, Marie Hallin, Olivier Vandenberg
Published in: Frontiers in Medicine, Issue 8, 2021, ISSN 2296-858X
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.743988

Assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of household-pooled universal testing to control COVID-19 epidemics

Author(s): Pieter J. K. Libin, Lander Willem, Timothy Verstraeten, Andrea Torneri, Joris Vanderlocht, Niel Hens
Published in: PLOS Computational Biology, Issue 17/3, 2021, Page(s) e1008688, ISSN 1553-7358
Publisher: Public Library of Science
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008688

SOCRATES-CoMix: a platform for timely and open-source contact mixing data during and in between COVID-19 surges and interventions in over 20 European countries

Author(s): Frederik Verelst, Lisa Hermans, Sarah Vercruysse, Amy Gimma, Pietro Coletti, Jantien A. Backer, Kerry L. M. Wong, James Wambua, Kevin van Zandvoort, Lander Willem, Laurens Bogaardt, Christel Faes, Christopher I. Jarvis, Jacco Wallinga, W. John Edmunds, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Medicine, Issue 19/1, 2021, ISSN 1741-7015
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-021-02133-y

Heterogeneous computing for epidemiological model fitting and simulation

Author(s): Thomas Kovac, Tom Haber, Frank Van Reeth, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Bioinformatics, Issue 19/1, 2018, ISSN 1471-2105
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12859-018-2108-3

Parametric overdispersed frailty models for current status data

Author(s): Steven Abrams, Marc Aerts, Geert Molenberghs, Niel Hens
Published in: Biometrics, Issue 73/4, 2017, Page(s) 1388-1400, ISSN 0006-341X
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc.
DOI: 10.1111/BIOM.12692

The impact of regular school closure on seasonal influenza epidemics: a data-driven spatial transmission model for Belgium

Author(s): Giancarlo De Luca, Kim Van Kerckhove, Pietro Coletti, Chiara Poletto, Nathalie Bossuyt, Niel Hens, Vittoria Colizza
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases, Issue 18/1, 2018, ISSN 1471-2334
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-017-2934-3

Mathematical models used to inform study design or surveillance systems in infectious diseases: a systematic review

Author(s): Sereina A. Herzog, Stéphanie Blaizot, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases, Issue 17/1, 2017, ISSN 1471-2334
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/S12879-017-2874-Y

Modelling time varying heterogeneity in recurrent infection processes: an application to serological data

Author(s): Steven Abrams, Andreas Wienke, Niel Hens
Published in: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series C (Applied Statistics), Issue 67/3, 2018, Page(s) 687-704, ISSN 0035-9254
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc.
DOI: 10.1111/rssc.12236

Household members do not contact each other at random: implications for infectious disease modelling

Author(s): Nele Goeyvaerts, Eva Santermans, Gail Potter, Andrea Torneri, Kim Van Kerckhove, Lander Willem, Marc Aerts, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Issue 285/1893, 2018, Page(s) 20182201, ISSN 0962-8452
Publisher: Royal Society of London
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2201

A Systematic Review of Social Contact Surveys to Inform Transmission Models of Close-contact Infections

Author(s): Thang Van Hoang, Pietro Coletti, Alessia Melegaro, Jacco Wallinga, Carlos G. Grijalva, John W. Edmunds, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Epidemiology, 2019, Page(s) 1, ISSN 1044-3983
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ltd.
DOI: 10.1097/ede.0000000000001047

Sample size calculation for estimating key epidemiological parameters using serological data and mathematical modelling

Author(s): Stéphanie Blaizot, Sereina A. Herzog, Steven Abrams, Heidi Theeten, Amber Litzroth, Niel Hens
Published in: BMC Medical Research Methodology, Issue 19/1, 2019, ISSN 1471-2288
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1186/s12874-019-0692-1

Shifting patterns of seasonal influenza epidemics

Author(s): Pietro Coletti, Chiara Poletto, Clément Turbelin, Thierry Blanchon, Vittoria Colizza
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 8/1, 2018, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30949-x

An ODE-based mixed modelling approach for B- and T-cell dynamics induced by Varicella-Zoster Virus vaccines in adults shows higher T-cell proliferation with Shingrix than with Varilrix

Author(s): Nina Keersmaekers, Benson Ogunjimi, Pierre Van Damme, Philippe Beutels, Niel Hens
Published in: Vaccine, Issue 37/19, 2019, Page(s) 2537-2553, ISSN 0264-410X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.03.075

The impact of behavioral interventions on co-infection dynamics: An exploration of the effects of home isolation

Author(s): Diana M Hendrickx, Steven Abrams, Niel Hens
Published in: Journal of Theoretical Biology, Issue 476, 2019, Page(s) 5-18, ISSN 0022-5193
Publisher: Academic Press
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.05.017

Measures for concordance and discordance with applications in disease control and prevention

Author(s): Marc Aerts, Adelino JC Juga, Niel Hens
Published in: Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 2018, Page(s) 096228021879625, ISSN 0962-2802
Publisher: SAGE Publications
DOI: 10.1177/0962280218796252

Estimating Transmission Parameters for COVID-19 Clusters by Using Symptom Onset Data, Singapore, January–April 2020

Author(s): Sheryl Hui-Xian Ng, Palvinder Kaur, Cécile Kremer, Woan Shin Tan, Aidan Lyanzhiang Tan, Niel Hens, Matthias Paul Toh, Kiok Liang Teow, Palvannan Kannapiran
Published in: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Issue 27/2, 2021, Page(s) 582-585, ISSN 1080-6040
Publisher: US National Center for Infectious Diseases
DOI: 10.3201/eid2702.203018

Authors’ response: Estimating the generation interval for COVID-19 based on symptom onset data

Author(s): Cécile Kremer, Tapiwa Ganyani, Dongxuan Chen, Andrea Torneri, Christel Faes, Jacco Wallinga, Niel Hens
Published in: Eurosurveillance, Issue 25/29, 2020, ISSN 1560-7917
Publisher: ECDC
DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.29.2001269

Stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium between 2006 and 2014

Author(s): Erwin Ho, Julie Schenk, Veronik Hutse, Vanessa Suin, Amber Litzroth, Stéphanie Blaizot, Sereina A. Herzog, Vera Verburgh, Marjorie Jacques, Abbas Rahman, Peter Michielsen, Pierre Van Damme, Steven Van Gucht, Heidi Theeten, Niel Hens, Thomas Vanwolleghem
Published in: Journal of Viral Hepatitis, Issue 27/11, 2020, Page(s) 1253-1260, ISSN 1352-0504
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc.
DOI: 10.1111/jvh.13347

Transcriptome profiling in blood before and after hepatitis B vaccination shows significant differences in gene expression between responders and non-responders

Author(s): Esther Bartholomeus, Nicolas De Neuter, Pieter Meysman, Arvid Suls, Nina Keersmaekers, George Elias, Hilde Jansens, Niel Hens, Evelien Smits, Viggo Van Tendeloo, Philippe Beutels, Pierre Van Damme, Benson Ogunjimi, Kris Laukens, Geert Mortier
Published in: Vaccine, Issue 36/42, 2018, Page(s) 6282-6289, ISSN 0264-410X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.09.001

SOCRATES: An online tool leveraging a social contact data sharing initiative to assess mitigation strategies for COVID-19

Author(s): Lander Willem; Thang Van Hoang; Sebastian Funk; Pietro Coletti; Philippe Beutels; Philippe Beutels; Niel Hens; Niel Hens
Published in: BMC research notes, Issue 3, 2020, ISSN 1756-0500
Publisher: BioMed Central
DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.03.20030627